8B — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD
TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2020
COFFEE BREAK
Pregnant bride-to-be faces choice between two brothers
DEAR ABBY: When I was
younger, I was engaged to a man
I’ll call “Jake.” I was deeply in
love with him, only to have my
heart broken when
he cheated on me, so
I broke it off. A short
time later, I devel-
oped feelings for his
brother, “Jed.” One
thing led to another,
and Jed and I are engaged to be
married in two months.
When Jake found out I was
dating Jed, he grew distant. I fi g-
ured it was because he was in
shock. Recently, he contacted me
and invited me to dinner. Thinking
it had to do with the wedding
plans, I accepted. When we were
getting ready to leave, Jake told
me he still loved me and had made
a terrible mistake. I had had a few
drinks, and we ended up having a
one-night stand.
I just found out I am preg-
nant, and I’m not sure if Jake is
the father or Jed is. Honestly, I
still love Jake, but
he can’t keep a job,
DEAR
and I don’t think he
could support me
ABBY
and a baby. What
should I do? Should
I keep my mouth
shut and marry Jed, who has a
good job and is faithful?
— BIG MESS IN THE SOUTH
DEAR BIG MESS: You would
be doing a terrible disservice to
Jed if you marry him while you
“honestly” still love his brother.
If you do, you will be in for a life-
time of guilt and frustration, and
the chances are great that you and
Jake won’t be able to stay away
from each other. While marriage
under these circumstances may
seem like an attractive solution
for you economically, it doesn’t
take a crystal ball to predict it will
be another disaster.
Instead of trying to take the
easy way out, straighten your
spine, fess up and do the right
thing. A paternity test will deter-
mine which brother is the father
of your child and the one who
should support it.
DEAR ABBY: I’m a 16-year-old
girl and 6 feet tall. I have already
been through the worst of my
insecurities, and even though
I now have some confi dence,
my height still bothers me. I’ve
always been taller than my peers
and blamed my social problems
on my height. Someone mentions
it every day, and where I work,
every other customer comments
on it, too.
I try not to be upset over some-
thing I can’t change. I know
people don’t mean to be hurtful,
but it makes me feel like I stand
out too much. I also feel like I’m
too big and too awkward for
normal activities. My pants are
never long enough, and my skirts
are always too short. I have to
adjust car seats and gym equip-
ment to fi t.
Worst of all, it’s off-putting to
boys. Most of them are shorter
and cite it as the reason they
aren’t interested in me roman-
tically. I know this might seem
trivial, but it’s my biggest insecu-
rity and hard to overcome. Please
help.
— TALL PROBLEM
DEAR PROBLEM: Many
people consider height to be an
advantage. You might, too, once
you decide to own and take pride
in it.
Regarding your diffi culty in
fi nding clothes that fi t, do some
research online and you will dis-
cover stores that cater to tall
women and men.
I can’t wave a magic wand and
fi x the insecurities of the young
men in your community and nei-
ther can you. This is why I’m
advising you to broaden your
horizons and look further for
romance because it isn’t beyond
your reach. A way to do that
might be to develop an interest in
basketball, a sport that attracts tall
people.
When you’re older, check into
a group called Tall Clubs Inter-
national. If you are 21 and over 5
feet, 10 inches, you qualify to join
and meet other people who won’t
be put off at all by your height.
You will fi nd them by going to
tall.org.
Community comes through for bike shop owner in Medford
By Nick Morgan
Mail Tribune via AP StoryShare
MEDFORD — A Med-
ford small business reeling
from back-to-back bur-
glaries is back in the saddle
thanks to an outpouring of
donations.
In less than two days,
dozens of donors raised
thousands of dollars for
Stan Moore, owner of
Stan’s Bikes in Medford,
who is blind.
The money will help
Moore recoup a series of
losses from earlier this
spring that threatened his
business in the 700 block of
Crater Lake Avenue.
At the suggestion of
friends, Moore posted a
GoFundMe Tuesday in
which he opened up about a
burglary attempt in March
that did thousands of dol-
lars worth of damage to
his business, coupled with
a burglary last month in
which more than $5,000
worth of bikes and mer-
chandise were stolen.
Moore’s $5,000 goal
was surpassed Thursday
afternoon, according to the
crowdfunding page, with
the tally showing $5,360 for
Moore raised over 88 dona-
tions in increments from
$10 to $200.
When reached by phone
at his business, Moore said
he had no idea the cam-
paign had been so suc-
cessful already, saying he’s
“just fl oored.”
“That’s crazy fast,”
Moore said. “I’ve never
done this before ... it brings
tears to my eyes.”
The most recent burglary
occurred about 5:51 a.m.
May 18, according to
Medford police Lt. Mike
Budreau. Unknown sus-
pects removed an air con-
ditioning unit from out-
side the building, and broke
a window to get out. The
thieves also targeted neigh-
boring bike shop Marty’s
Cycle, making off with fi ve
bikes, according to Budreau
and a Medford police Face-
book post seeking tips.
No surveillance video
or suspect information has
surfaced in the burglary,
and all fi ve bikes are still
missing, Budreau said.
Photo by Jamie Lusch / Mail Tribune via AP StoryShare
Stan Moore raised $5,000 on GoFundMe in days after his store was robbed in Medford.
Budreau said the busi-
ness has been “hit over the
months and years a lot.”
Moore said he believes
the latest of the “pretty
much back-to-back”
break-ins were thieves who
took advantage of his lack
of eyesight. The thieves in
the latest burglary knew
where Moore kept a key to
his till, according to Moore.
“He had to know how I’d
done things,” Moore said.
“He’d been watching me for
a while.”
Moore said he rou-
tinely faces petty thefts
from his shop, but the latest
burglaries were worth
$5,000 plus about $2,500
in damage. Although he
has business insurance, his
costs to pay the deductible
and costs to cover the losses
were similar.
“Either way I cannot
afford to cover these
thefts and stay in busi-
ness,” Moore said on the
GoFundMe page.
Moore was diagnosed
with retinitis pigmentosa
in the 1980s, and by 2012
had lost all sight, and for
the past six years has been
repairing and tuning bikes
by touch and sound.
Moore has worked
with bikes since the early
1970s — fi rst taking over
the bike business his par-
ents founded in 1959 before
selling the business that’s
now Marty’s Cycle to
Marty Hammond in the
mid-2000s. Moore opened
his current bike repair and
pool maintenance business
with the help of Oregon
Commission for the Blind,
according to a past news
report.
Moore said he used to
race bikes back in the 1970s
and ’80s when he had his
sight, and still races tandem
bikes as the “horsepower in
the back.”
Moore said he recog-
nized many of the donors as
his friends.
“We all need to hear
some good news right now,”
Moore said.
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